


Clock

by Lobster



Series: A Year of Haymitch and Effie Drabbles [17]
Category: Hunger Games Series - All Media Types, Hunger Games Trilogy - Suzanne Collins
Genre: 75th Hunger Games, Angst, Canon-Typical Violence, Canonical Character Death, Ficlet, Gen, Haymitch Is A Lying Liar Who Lies, It's The 75th Hunger Games Y'all Know What's Up, POV Female Character
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-07
Updated: 2019-06-07
Packaged: 2020-04-12 07:59:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 541
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19127866
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lobster/pseuds/Lobster
Summary: Fifty-two weeks, fifty-two prompts, fifty-two drabbles; this work is part of a series of Haymitch/Effie drabbles inspired by one-word prompts. This week's prompt: clock.Effie and Haymitch watch the first night of the 75th Hunger Games, unable to do anything to help.





	Clock

**Author's Note:**

> Much love and thanks to the amazing Juxtaposie for the beta! <3

Effie reeled back from the console in shock, tears threatening to spill over. Mags couldn’t be dead! She had been a part of Effie’s life for over a decade. Yes, Effie had known in her heart, when she saw her volunteer for Annie, that Mags wouldn’t make it out of the arena, and yes, she wanted Katniss or Peeta to win, but--

The arena had already been so deadly. Blight had died just an hour ago by walking into the forcefield, when that awful blood rain had come down in the section of the arena next to their group. But Effie had hoped that would have been enough for the Gamemakers for the night. Instead, the poison fog had started not long after. First the lightning, then the rain, then the fog… The perfectly circular arena divided into twelve wedges… There was something unusual about it.

Effie blinked. It was a clock. The attacks on the tributes would keep happening because the whole arena was like the gears in a clock, set in motion by the Gamemakers for the enjoyment of the Capitol. She felt sick. She grabbed Haymitch to steady herself and looked at him. She could see in his eyes that he already knew, and that he was worried about something else. What?

He pointed to the screen showing Peeta purging the poison from his body. He had crossed the line into the next wedge and went deeper into it with each splash. Katniss likewise had crossed the line of the wedge. Finnick was still lying on the beach, unable to focus on anything. However, shortly the two began pouring seawater onto him, then dragged him down to the water, crossing deeply into the fourth wedge.

“Maybe they’ll stay on the beach?” Effie whispered helplessly. But then, “I’m going to try to tap a tree,” echoed from both their console and the main feed at the front of the room.

“Oh, Katniss, no,” Effie breathed, while Haymitch swore colorfully under his breath. Peeta decided to go off instead, leaving Katniss and Finnick on the beach. None of the three tributes could see the mutts that were assembling in the trees, but Claudius Templesmith’s night shift replacement, Quintus Hubbard, was going on quite gleefully about them.

Finnick, meanwhile, had purged the poison from his body and was enjoying a nice little swim in the moonlit lagoon. Katniss was watching him. Neither were paying attention to the mutts in the trees, and so silent were they that Peeta didn’t notice either. It was 2:56 when Finnick and Katniss decided to join Peeta in gathering water.

In a matter of minutes the mutt monkeys were attacking the trio, Effie and Haymitch looking on helplessly. Then Katniss ran out of arrows and Effie thought--

But then something completely unexpected happened. Ellen Moore, from District Six, materialized out of the jungle. Not even Quintus Hubbard had noticed her. She dove straight between Peeta and a monkey and took the full brunt of the attack. And the monkeys seemed to take this as a signal to melt away back into the trees…

“What on Earth is going on?” Effie asked nobody in particular.

“Who can say?” replied Haymitch, “But let’s not question it, princess.”


End file.
